Woman, 69, dies in Mt. Prospect apartment fire

Fire report

Tribune illustration

(Tribune illustration)

By Staff report

A 69-year-old woman died in a small fire in her Mount Prospect apartment this morning, officials said.

The woman was declared dead on the scene after the fire, which began about 5:40 a.m. in a 12-unit apartment building in the 2300 block of South Cannon Drive, Mount Prosect Fire Chief John Malcolm said.

The woman was identified as Kathleen Marrs, 69, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Firefighters, who had been putting out a 4:30 a.m. fire in a home in the 100 block of North School Street in the northwest suburb, arrived to find a small fire in a first-floor unit of the Cannon Drive building, Malcolm said in a news release. Firefighters found the woman in a search of the apartment where the blaze originated, Malcolm said.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze soon after, with damage confined to the apartment where it started, Malcolm said. The other residents of the building have been allowed back in. The fire caused about $50,000 damage to the building, according to the release.

Mount Prospect police and the State Fire Marshal are investigating. But Malcolm said the fire does not appear suspicious.